A Pirate's Tail
by Gramayre
Summary: Sawaquiamora is a Khajiit pirate down on her luck. First she lost her ship, and now to boost her remaining crew's morale, she has to smuggle goods to the Stormcloaks, who happen to hate any non-Nord's guts. On top of all that, she has to hire a Breton mage on death row to protect her pirates from the Aldmeri Dominion. Could things get much worse? Yes. It's called dragons.
1. Chapter 1

The _Saber_ had been a magnificent ship; made out of dark, glossy wood and protected against the elements by the most careful methods, it had been sleek and sturdy, able to easily maneuver the glaciers of northern seas or the rocks in the midst of rivers. Its prow had had the figure of -who would have guessed- a sabercat mid leap. Its small size had not at all compromise its effectivity. In fact, being able to escape to shallower waters had made it easier for the pirate ship to escape the Aldmeri Dominion, who were constantly trying to arrest the crew.

Sawaquiamora had been proud of her ship. So, when it was destroyed in a skirmish between her and those "blasted elves", it was only natural for the Khajiit to seek revenge.

It happened when the _Saber_ was just returning to Solitude from a delivery of goods to Dawnstar. Sawaquiamora should have known something was up; the residents of Dawnstar, usually so chatty, had retained an unusual silence when she and her crew were taking their stay in the tavern. Most of their trip back to Solitude had been uneventful, which was odd enough in itself.

When the _Saber_ turned into the Karth River, though, it was cut off by Aldmeri ships on both sides. Sawaqiamora had sworn profusely then. The crew had fought vigorously, despite their odds. The battle went somewhat like this:

Sawaquiamora shouted angrily at her crew to arm the cannons. A large, sea-worthy ship had cut off their escape into the Sea of Ghosts, and presently they were firing off their weapons in rapid succession. Cannons just barely missed the _Saber_ as Sawaquiamora's first mate, a Cathay-Raht named Kindri, swerved the ship to avoid the hazardous downpour.

To the southwest, the other ship was smaller but just as dangerous. Mages were uttering spells, creating a pink haze in addition to whatever the intent of the spells were. At the sight of this, Sawaquiamora urged more of her crew to that side of the ship to eliminate the threat that the magic posed.

A cannonball struck home a few feet below deck and towards the rear of the ship. Again, the captain muttered a rude string of curses as the whole ship shuddered, threatening to bring a few uncoordinated fellows to their knees.

"Get yer aim as good as theirs, and we might make it out alive yet, ye filthy mutts!" the Khajiit yowled. It was what felt like forever until the pirates managed to severely injure the Aldmeri's seaside craft. They retreated too fast. Even as the crew around her momentarily celebrated with short woops, Sawaquiamora couldn't help feel uneasy. She turned her attention to the remaining boat only to see a monstrosity arise from the waters of the river.

A stone atronach. She'd seen the likes of them before, but this one towered above any others she'd encountered. The waters of the river came up to its knees, and the faces of the mages that had summoned it were strained with the concentration it took to keep the atronach there.

Soon, the rest of Sawaquiamora's crew had seen the huge elemental. The stronger ones ran to the cannons to take action, but some of her usually lion-hearted crew fell to the deck in terror. If those ones made it the day, the captain would be sure to give them a proper punishment.

The atronach didn't seemed affected at all by the cannonballs that were being fired at it. It lumbered towards the _Saber_ , slowly raising its huge bat-like arms. Sawaquiamora realized what it was going to do just in time.

With a leap towards the edge of her beloved _Saber_ , Sawaquiamora shouted, "Abandon ship! Abandon ship!" A captain was supposed to go down with their vessel, but the captain of _this_ ship was a Khajiit first, and Khajiits valued their fur above anything else.

The pirates fled from their posts, glad for her command. They jumped into the frigid waters without much heed to where they were jumping to. When everybody except Sawaquiamora and Kindri were off the ship, the captain took one last look at her doomed craft and plummeted into the river below.

When Sawaquiamora raised her head above the water, she was able to see the atronach crush the _Saber_ like a ripe tomato.


	2. Chapter 2

Now, Sawaquiamora and her crew were in one of their many hideouts across Skyrim. It was a hidden grotto near Solitude, not too far from the lighthouse. Half of the pirates once under her control had either abandoned her or been eaten by the slaughterfish. She said good riddance.

The only problem with her crew's vast decrease in numbers was that morale was low, and now Sawaquiamora had less dockhands. The grotto wasn't helping their moods, either. Not only was it dark, damp, and moldy, but it was also not quite theirs. In Brinewater Grotto, as it was more formally known by its inhabitants, there was another group of bandits, affiliated with the East Empire Trading Company. Sawaquiamora was on uneasy terms with them; they let her take shelter in the grotto every now and then, but if they caught her and her bandits too deep into their cave, then their would be consequences. Mostly for Sawaquiamora. So, it was natural for her crew to resist staying there.

Currently, they Sawaquiamora was pacing in a corridor just out of sight of her crew. What the situation she'd gotten them into! No ship, few crew, the Aldmeri probably searching for them. Sawaquiamora was decided on one thing: there was no way in Oblivion that she'd give up her pirating career because of this. What did she have left? The Khajiit had no idea.

Kindri coughed conspicuously as he walked towards her. "The crew are unhappy. If you don't do something, we may get more deserters," he said mildly. Sawaquiamora cursed. Couldn't these mutts keep their loyalty for more than five minutes?

"I'll deal with it," Sawaquiamora muttered. She walked back out to the main cavern where the others were waiting. Sure enough, the motley assortment of Redguards, Argonians, and Khajiits were murmuring and complaining.

The captain was filled with rage. "And you call yourselves pirates!" she yowled over the voices. Immediately, the whispers stopped, replaced with grudging attention. Sawaquiamora stood with her back straight and a paw on her scimitar, careful to look as confident as she needed to. "You think that just because we've lost our ship that you can go giving up on me, your captain?!" She spat in disgust. "If you've lost all your balls, you can leave. _My_ crew doesn't need cowards that run at the first sign of losing." The remaining crew shuffled around a bit, but no one moved to leave. If they had, Sawaquiamora would have ordered Kindri to shoot them.

Sawaquiamora stepped towards her crew, eyeing the ones closest to her menacingly. "And we haven't lost yet. Yes, the loss of the _Saber_ was hard, but we can come by another boat. And, with the plan I've got, we'll be swimming in gold soon enough." The Khajiit saw several crew members look at her quizzically, and she quickly thought up the promised plan.

"Those Stormcloaks, they hate the Aldmeri as much as we do, yes?" Several nods. "Those Stormcloaks, they would love to have cheap, good armor, yes?" More nods. Sawaquiamora hesitated before she continued, unsure of her proposition herself. "Well, I'm sure we could get a little _revenge_ on the Aldmeri and get some new Stormcloak armor at the same time. We could arrive right at the gates of Windhelm with those goods and get a warmer welcome than Ulfric himself! So, _are you with me_?!"

The crew now looked at their captain anew. Shouts of agreement and general rejoicement rose up among them. Sawaquiamora smiled toothily.

Then, she turned back to her secluded section of the cave and reprimanded herself for her stupidity.

Kindri elbowed her playfully. "What was that about, Captain?" If it had been anyone else, Sawaquiamora surely would have gouged out their eyes, the mood she was in.

"I don't even know. I guess desperation taking a hold," she hissed back instead. She had not improved the situation; she had just made it worse!

"May I give you some advice?" Kindri asked. He moved to catch a look at the pirates still cheering in the other area. When I didn't protest, he continued, "You have not a single soul out there who can handle a decent spell. Maybe the Argonians could put up a bit of resistance against the magics of those Aldmeri, but you need someone more attuned to it than a lizard."

The Khajiit flinched at Kindri's casual use of such a derogatory term to describe the Argonians; she didn't like it when people called the Beastfolk animals. "And where do you suggest we get someone that can use spells? It's not like any elf in a million years would help us, and no sane human would give aid to pirates like us," Sawaquiamora spat.

"They would if it was a matter between life and death," Kindri said slyly.

Sawaquiamora glanced at him suspiciously. "What do you have in mind, Cathay-Raht?"

Kindri grinned. "What do you think about a trip into town?"


	3. Chapter 3

Kindri suggested a devious plan that Sawaquiamora couldn't resist. She gathered together a small band of two or three of her most trusted crewmates; most were left behind to guard the others. Solitude was unguarded in the back routes that Sawaquiamora took her crew through, and the Khajiit strode fearlessly through them. She led her crew with the confidence they needed in this risky plan.

Their target was the prison, a place Sawaquiamora never hoped to go. Eats-Warm-Fish, an Argonian sharpshooter that Sawaquiamora had employed years ago, was muttering something along those same lines.

Sawaquiamora divided her crew up; she and Eats-Warm-Fish were to approach the prison through the roof-tops, and the others were to continue on the ground.

The Khajiit and the Argonian quickly scuttled up the side of one of the many brick houses. The Captain could see the other members of her band take a turn and slip into the shadows. She also guards patrolling the area.

The only way Sawaquiamora saw anyone getting into the prison was by playing off the guards' expectancy for a prisoner to be breaking _out_ , not pirates breaking _in_. Getting out was another matter altogether, although she didn't bring her rapier and trusty bow for nothing.

The Captain of the Guard in Solitude was worrying about other things. Peryn Greendale was in charge of over a thousand men, and yet he couldn't keep his own brother out of prison. Over a week ago, his brother, Mordyval, had been charged with stealing from a noble near the Blue Palace. Peryn had pled Mordyval's case with the Queen, but the nobleman had a good reputation and the evidence was against his brother.

Peryn still didn't believe his brother was guilty, but the Queen's decree was final. Even now, the Captain was setting aside his personal desires in favor of his duty and his loyalty to his superiors. He was pacing down the corridors of the barracks, a packet of papers in his hand. He was to report all the inmates for the weekly census. It wasn't an exactly easy or quick task; he'd been working on getting the numbers all day. Normally, it would be assigned to one of his underlings, but the Queen wanted him to do it for some reason. Peryn had the distinct impression that that reason was related to his brother's imprisonment.

Peryn nodded at some soldiers that passed him; they nodded right back. The large majority of the soldiers were Nords and Imperials; as a result, they didn't always treat him, a Breton, like their Captain. He was fine with that.

He finally descended to the records room where the bookkeeper was busily shuffling away loose papers that he'd evidently been scanning. What for, Peryn could only guess. Bookkeepers were like a whole new race.

"I've got the census for the prisoners, Myr," Peryn said, idlt throwing the packet on the corner of the bookkeeper's desk.

Myr looked up, dark rings under his eyes. "Thanks," he said with a lopsided grin only undermined by his half-asleep look. One of the papers he was sorting through slipped out of his grasp, and Peryn swooped down to pick it up before it could touch the ground. As he handed it over to Myr, he saw the title: _Imperial Casualties- Sea of Ghosts_. The Captain smirked. "What's this? Sailors being swallowed by sea monsters?"

The bookkeeper gave a forced laugh. "Something like that," he replied vaguely. Peryn nodded. _A bit too much moonsugar that one's had, I'd warrant._

The Captain made his way back up to the main floor of the barracks. It was pleasantly quiet. He enjoyed the unexpected silence until he saw bloodstains on the floor. Then, he paused.

Then, he drew his sword.


End file.
